The Stalingrad Tractor Plant was not originally built to produce tanks, but rather to assemble tractors for agricultural purposes
The Stalingrad Tractor Plant (STZ) is one of the most famous military production plants in history, not least due to its status as having remained in production until the plant itself became the epicentre of the battle that turned the war on the Eastern Front in favour of the Soviet Union. Stories of unpainted tanks moving directly into combat may be slightly exaggerated, but the location of the plant and its central role in the battle of Stalingrad are historical facts. The plant was not however originally built to produce tanks, but rather to assemble tractors for agricultural purposes. Tank production was a later consideration, as it was at several Soviet manufacturing plants now primarily known for tank production.
The city of Stalingrad, as with several cities on the Volga river, is very long but also narrow, stretching today 70km along the west bank of the River Volga. As such, the whole city was within enemy artillery range for much of the battle, the results of which can still be seen in places today.
The city was renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of the Soviet de-S…
